


Watch the Stars, Hold My Hand

by HollowIsTheWorld



Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: Camping, Fluff, Fourth of July, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-29
Updated: 2016-06-29
Packaged: 2018-07-19 01:23:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,433
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7338880
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HollowIsTheWorld/pseuds/HollowIsTheWorld
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dex probably shouldn't find it as amusing as he does that the one thing his boyfriend absolutely cannot be chill about is camping.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Watch the Stars, Hold My Hand

**Author's Note:**

> [For week two of the OMGCP trope challenge - Fourth of July or Canada Day.](https://omgcp-tropechallenge.tumblr.com/post/146627873383/omgcp-challenge-trope-2-independence-daycanada)

Dex wasn’t sure if inviting Nursey along for his family’s annual fourth of July camping trip was the best idea he’d ever had, or the worst. 

Quite possibly it was both. 

Dex’s boyfriend stomped back up to him, announcing his presence by breaking every branch and crumpling every leaf that crossed his path. Nursey slapped his neck, scowling. “I am being eaten  _ alive _ .”

It was, by far, the most  _ unchill _ Dex had ever seen Nursey, and he was waiting for the opportune moment to point this out to him. 

Nursey sat back down next to Dex on the blanket they had spread out on the sandy ground beside the river and put his head on Dex’s shoulder. “I don’t know how you do this, Poindexter.”

Dex had never  _ disliked _ camping, but seeing Derek Nurse so completely out of his element was making it even more fun than usual. He patted his boyfriend’s arm and Nursey made a face at him, clearly not believing the show of sympathy. Which, Dex supposed, was fair, because he hadn’t meant it. 

“I thought you liked the outdoors, Nurse? You always seem to be covered in leaves.” To emphasize this, Dex pulled a stray leaf out of the sand and put it in Nursey’s hair. 

Nursey raised an eyebrow at him, but left the leaf where it was. “It’s the  _ bugs _ .” He slapped his arm for emphasis, in a fruitless attempt to protect himself from the mosquitoes. “And the  _ weather _ . It was a hundred degrees today, and then the sun went down and now it’s so cold that I’m wearing three layers and I’m  _ still _ cold.”

Dex put an arm around Nursey’s shoulders and kissed his temple. 

“You’re mocking me, I can tell.”

“Yeah.”

“I have never known a more vulgar expression of betrayal and deceit.” Nursey used what Dex thought of as his ‘quoting voice’ when he said it, and Dex had to restrain himself from laughing at the idea that Nursey had had a quote about betrayal at the ready. 

“You know what would make camping more fun?” Dex asked, careful to use the same tone he used when he was trying to get Nursey into bed. 

Nursey perked up a little. “What?”

Dex leaned in like he was going to kiss him, stopped a fraction of an inch away from his mouth, and, in a low voice, said, “If you…  _ chilled _ .”

Nursey pulled back from him, grabbed a handful of sand, and chucked it at Dex’s face. Dex retaliated by reaching out and yanking Nursey’s hood over his head. Nursey lurched forward and tackled him to the ground, pinning him on his back. 

“Will, are you being  _ gross? _ ” one of Dex’s little brother’s demanded. 

Nursey’s head shot up in surprise. Dex suspected he’d forgotten they weren’t alone in the campsite. Everyone was gathered around, waiting for the fireworks show to start. 

Dex took advantage of Nursey’s distraction to shove Nursey off him. Nursey hit sand, tried to stand, slipped, and fell on his butt in the water. 

Dex let out a surprised laugh, even as he stood to help his boyfriend back up. He heard the sound of a phone camera clicking, and made a mental note to find out who’d taken the picture, so he could get a copy of it and use it for blackmail. 

Nursey was looking at him pathetically, not unlike the look he had after getting too drunk at kegsters, but without the glazed over look that came from being either drunk or hungover. “I’m wet.”

“Yeah, you fell in a river.”

“And I’m cold.”

“Falling in a river can have that effect.”

“Be honest with me, Dex, did you invite me along so you could kill me in the woods and have your family help you with the body? Because there are easier ways to break up with someone.”

Dex crouched down in front of Nursey and, ignoring the shouts and wolf-whistles from his family, kissed Nursey. He’d meant for it to be a quick and chaste one, but it ended up deepening, and Dex leaned closer to get a better angle. 

Which, of course, was when Nursey grabbed the front of Dex’s jacket and yanked  _ him _ into the water as well. 

It was by no means deep, but Dex ended up soaked all over anyway. When he looked up, Nursey was still sitting in the water, now looking immensely pleased with himself. Dex saw a camera flash. 

“There,” Nursey said, as though he’d just settled a very important argument. “Now we’re  _ both _ wet.”

Dex splashed him and Nursey sputtered as cold water hit his face. “You realize this is war, right, Nurse?”

“Oh,  _ bring it _ , Poindexter.” A loud  _ pop _ accentuated his words, and they looked up to see that the fireworks show had started, lighting up the sky, and reflecting in the water around them. Nursey’s face was lit up in bright white light for a moment, then shrouded in darkness again. Dex’s eyes struggled to adjust. 

Dex slowly got to his feet, and Nursey followed suit, grabbing on to Dex to keep his balance. “We should go get changed,” Dex said, “or else we’re going to freeze to death during the show.”

“You should have thought about that before you threw me in the river,” Nursey said as they began to pick their way back towards their tent. 

“Before I - you  _ fell _ .”

“A likely story.”

“Nursey!”

“Say what you like, Dex, I don’t have to stand here and have lies told about me, making me look-”

Dex kissed him, just to shut him up. Again, it lasted longer than he’d originally intended. He pulled back. “We’re going to miss the fireworks show if we keep doing that.”

Nursey seemed unconcerned. “I’d rather watch the  _ you _ show.”

Dex smacked Nursey’s arm. “You are  _ such _ a sap.”

“You love me.”

“Sometimes I wonder. Come on, I’m tired of being wet.”

They stepped into their tent and Dex began peeling out of his layers and putting on new ones. “Your penchant for disasters is contagious,” he told Nursey as they changed. 

“I don’t have a penchant for disasters!”

“Oh, you really do. There is a  _ reason _ that Nursey patrol has to exist every kegster. You know what, maybe it isn’t contagious, maybe I’m just inside the blast radius now that I’m dating you. I didn’t realize this would be so dangerous.”

Nursey punched his shoulder. “You’re an ass.”

Dex slapped Nursey’s ass on his way back out of the tent. “Come on. The fireworks are the best part of the fourth, and we’re missing them.”

Nursey followed him, muttering something under his breath that Dex couldn’t hear. Dex smiled to himself. He’d never had such an easy time getting a rise out of Nursey before. He’d have to make it up to him when they got back to a proper bed.

They returned to their blanket and laid down, looking up at the show. Nursey put his arm around Dex’s shoulders and tugged the two of them closer together. 

They didn’t speak again while the fireworks went off, aside from the usual reaction comments of ‘oh, that one was cool,’ and ‘whoa, did you see that?’

They returned to their tent and prepared to go to bed. After they laid down, Nursey reached his hand out to take Dex’s. As he twined their fingers together he said, “For the record, I still don’t like this kind of camping.”

Dex snorted. Nursey had informed him that  _ he _ considered the definition of camping to involve indoor plumbing, real beds, and air conditioning. “Really? I would have thought you’d like how  _ chill _ it is.”

“ _ But _ ,” Nursey said, pointedly not rising to the bait, “I am glad you invited me to come with you.”

“Even though you fell in a river and are going to be a walking bug bite by the time we get back?”

“Even though. I like…” He squeezed Dex’s hand. “It makes me feel… Like part of the family, I guess. I don’t get that feeling a lot. I like it.”

Dex was glad that it was too dark in the tent for Nursey to see his blush. “I like having you as part of the family too.”

Nursey kissed the back of Dex’s hand, and recited something that Dex was certain he’d gotten out of some ancient poetry book. 

“For fuck’s sake, Nurse, stop being sappy and go to sleep.” 

Nursey chuckled and settled into his sleeping bag a little better. “Love you, Poindexter.”

After a long, not uncomfortable silence, Dex replied, very quietly, “Yeah. Love you too, Nurse.”

**Author's Note:**

> [I am also on tumblr](http://hollowistheworld.tumblr.com/)


End file.
